Paul Dye's RV-8 Cockpit Tour

DeltaRomeo · #1 01-17-2006, 06:24 PM

(Taken during Paul's visit to 52F today. Placed here so it will be searchable in the archives and so that Paul can chime in to answer any questions). dr

Key words: Paul Dye, IronFlight, RV-8, Cockpit, Virtual Tour

DeltaRomeo · #2 01-17-2006, 06:26 PM

batch 2 of 3

DeltaRomeo · #3 01-17-2006, 06:27 PM

batch 3 of 3

mgomez · #4 01-17-2006, 08:58 PM

Some of your switch guards look like guards I've seen in photos of the Shuttle cockpit. Perhaps you offered your RV-8 as an "Atmospheric Switch Guard Test Vehicle?"

Seriously...where did you buy them?
Cheers,
Martin

Ironflight · #5 01-17-2006, 09:04 PM

"Where did I get them?" and "Where can YOU get them?" are actually two different questions....

They are available from Perihelion Designs - I've bought a few things from them, and you can find them on the web...

The reason we use them in the Shuttle is to make sure that we don't change switch positions when bumping itno things in zero-g. They are REALLy useful in the airplane as finger-holds in turbulence!

Paul

ptrotter · #6 01-17-2006, 10:27 PM

Very very nice!!!

RudiGreyling · #7 01-18-2006, 12:35 AM

Wow Paul, very nice, I like it a lot.

I'm sure I'll think about a lot of questions when I get closer to that stage, but the first coule that pops into mind is about the paint job..
1) what did you use as interior paint & colour,
2) your application method, during what stage of construction did you painted.
3) how is it holding up, and what about touch ups?
4) Anything you'd do different during the paint proces.

Thanks,
Rudi

srv · #8 01-18-2006, 01:06 AM

Paul,

Nice setup, like the shuttle guards too. Question for you or any other RV-8 panel experts.

I'm thinking of using a Dynon-180 (bigger display with EFIS/EMS combo), and my tendency would be to group the analog backups on one side, rather than have a/s on one side and alt on the other. Obviously, a/s, alt, vsi and an autopilot (thinking the pictorial pilot also) would be crowded on one side... But wondering about the human factors (say your EFIS goes out IFR and you've got to look back and forth alot).

Figure you'd have some human factors guys at JSC advising you (I worked on the TFCR & CCF, and there must be a million experts there).

Thanks

Ironflight · #9 01-18-2006, 07:50 AM

Thanks Rudi!

I am probably going to be snubbed by all the real craftsmen around here after I reveal my interior secret, but here goes.....

1) Industrial "machinery gray" rattle-can paint! And don't let the "Industrial" fool you into thinking I spent a lot of money....just picked it up at Home Depot. I did some tests for scratch and wear resistance with some different paints, and this stuff did pretty well. At least as well as my painting skills...

2) I just primed and painted each component as they were finished. Pieces that were small enough, I baked in the oven for about three hours @ 250 degrees (The wife was overseas at the time, and what she doesn't know won't hurt her...). The big structure obviously didn't fit in the oven - I just used heat lamps overnight to help it cure nice and hard.

Want to make a spray can "handle" like a gun? Home Depot sells a little plastic handle for about three bucks that gives you a trigger and everything. Really - try it!

3) It is holding up amazingly well! I have been in and out of the cockpit countless times since I painted it well over a year ago, and have still to scratch the paint under my feet. I am surprised that my heels haven't scraped it yet (under the rudder peddles).

4) The only place I have a few scratches are where I painted over the powder-coated parts - I probably should have roughed those up a bit more before priming and painting.

So why did I do it the way I did? I hate mixing two-part stuff, and hate cleaning up spray guns even more! It's that simple....and I'm having Grady paint the exterior so that I don't have to deal with it!

Paul

Ironflight · #10 01-18-2006, 08:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by srv

Paul,

Nice setup, like the shuttle guards too. Question for you or any other RV-8 panel experts.

I'm thinking of using a Dynon-180 (bigger display with EFIS/EMS combo), and my tendency would be to group the analog backups on one side, rather than have a/s on one side and alt on the other. Obviously, a/s, alt, vsi and an autopilot (thinking the pictorial pilot also) would be crowded on one side... But wondering about the human factors (say your EFIS goes out IFR and you've got to look back and forth alot).

Figure you'd have some human factors guys at JSC advising you (I worked on the TFCR & CCF, and there must be a million experts there).

Thanks

Very insightful question/comment!

I did have a lot of discussions with my cockpit design gurus and test pilot buddies before I finalized the panel. If I would do anything differently today, I would have gotten 2 1/4" ASI and Altimeters, just to save on real estate, but I like the final layout because of what I was used to. In the AA1B that I flew for over 20 years, the lower left side of the panel clustered the clock, compass, and T&B with the ASI. I found thatthis tightly grouped set of instruments was really good for partial panel flying (if anything can be said to be good for that!), and I got comfortable with it. Having altitude right there would be nice, but as long as you have airspeed, you have some idea whether you are slowing or speeding up, and therefore if you are climbing or diving. I just have found that when I am partial panel, I rarely look at the altimeter as much as the other stuff.

Of course, with the Pictorial Pilot, I'm unlikely to be hand flying partial panel anyway (not that I don't practice that way), because as long as it is working, I'll just engage the autopilot to keep me flying straight and level, and spend my limited brain cells trying to think my way out of the mess I've gotten myself into...

The rest of the panel layout came from a desire to have similar functions grouped together (electrcial is ALL on the right sub-panel, Fuel and engine is ALL over on the left), and having switches where my hands naturally fall to them. Other little human factors things were leaving the avionics protruding (rather than flush) to provide "finger ledges" for operating in turbulence, etc.

So yes, I had a lot of outside help and comments in the design phase, and it paid off! Now I am trying to figure out where to put my Altrak button when I install that....needs to be for the left hand, since I want to keep flying with my right until it's engaged, but the left side doesn't have any good real estate left.....It'll come to me!

Paul